


No Longer Ours

by dreaminkwaii



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Aristocrat, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Angst, Family, Friendship, Loyalty, M/M, Revenge, Romance, Tragedy, True Love, greed - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-08-09 13:05:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16450508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreaminkwaii/pseuds/dreaminkwaii
Summary: The humans have slaughtered the whole reigning vampire family and seized control of the kingdom. Not stopping at only one aristocrat vampire family but the whole entire vampire clan. Lee Donghyuck managed to escape the onslaught and is hidden away by loyalists for 13 years.Despite not forgetting the night his family was murdered, Lee Donghyuk continues to live his life with a radiating smile. The carefree boy caught the attention of the kind and selfless son of the current tyrannical ruler, Mark. He can't seem to take his eyes off the boy. The more he ignored him, the more attracted he is to him. Unbeknown to each other of their family background, the two fell in love.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> No longer is loosely based on William Shakespeare's classic play, Romeo and Juliet. Though only the theme is borrowed; this fanfiction differs extensively from the play. Some words may have a different meaning from their original meaning (probably).

The sweet melody of a hymn – Matthaus-Passion – resonated throughout the whole room. One lone man sat on an ash-grey accent chair, appreciating the music flowing out of the gramophone adjacent to him. Drowning in the harmonious melody swimming around him, contrary to the chaos erupted to the world outside his room. A wicked smile formed on his thin lips as the music reached its climax and came to a complete end. The man hummed joyfully, despite the harmonious melody had been replaced by the terror screams. The man’s body shook with excitement as the sweet screams filled the silence in his room. Magnificent.

The world outside his room was an utter chaos. Armored men running around the proximity. Sounds of swords clanking one another, slashing fleshes causing crimson red liquid to gush out. Lifeless bodies laying everywhere, blood pooled around their disfigured bodies. Pieces of furniture and flags catching fire, burning the emblem embroidered on them. A total chaos.

Unbeknown to a five-year-old boy sleeping soundly in his room. Not until the sound of a woman screeched did he wake up from his deep slumber. Mother? Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he got down from his king-sized bed – a bed too big for a small child like him – with one small blanket in his hand. Knowing the geography of the mansion like the back of his hand, the little boy made his way to the room of his dear mother. The boy readied himself with the most beautiful smile he could conjure – a habit he always does before meeting his mother – and turned on the doorknob only to meet with a silent plea from the lady to run away. His mother was on the ground, crimson blood pooled around her as she struggled to use last bit of her energy to protect the apple of her eyes.

With a swift slash of his sword, the once sat armored man made sure the lady’s effort was in vain. A proud smug spread across his blood-tainted face. His smug spread wider as his cold eyes landed on the petrified boy, frozen and shaken with fear in the place he stood. A sorrowful plea for his mother escaped his shivering lips, the word mama came out as a whisper. His little body crumbled to the ground but the only thought in his head was the desire to be closer to his mother. He pulled himself to the lifeless body, crawling as his shoulder violently shaking with despair. The tears streamed down his beautiful face, unable to stop themselves as his eyes traced the bloodied lady underneath him. He wished this was all a dream, a little push to his mother and probably the lady will lift her head and says this is all a joke – a prank like she often does. No reaction came from her but now his hand was tainted with the crimson liquid. The smell of copper hung the air and reality finally hit him causing him to vomit. He slowly turned his head to the side; another familiar figure lies dead with his head mutilated from his body. The man was his dear father. Another wave of sorrow mixed with disgust seeing the mutilated head caused him to vomit.

The armored man stood proudly as if seeing the little boy’s reaction was the most satisfying thing for him. Laughter filled the little boy’s ears and the sickening feeling overwhelms him. An emotion he never knew he would feel overwhelms him, a surge of anger and loath fills him as the boy stood back on his legs. His eyes were burning, and the armored man could feel the heated glares the boy was giving him.

“Oho, boy.” He started as he swings his sword to the boy’s face, “Is that anger and resentment I feel?” The man looked down on the five-year-old boy, half amazed at his will. Even with a sword dyed in blood pointed to his face like this, there was no fear in his eyes. “I like you, boy.” The man declared.

“Your grace!” An urgent voice resounding from behind, loud footsteps could be heard as they rushed to the main room. The gruesome view dyed in crimson red flooded their sight and anger filled the three men. Their eyes glowed dark red – the same color as blood – and bore their fangs to the pesky human. Their movements were quick – being the upper beings than him – and the man would probably have been killed if it wasn’t for a blinding light shone in the room. They could feel their energy depleting, they succumbed to the ground feeling their energy drained as the light shine on them.

Apparently, the light had no effect on the boy as he bore his fangs, his eyes glowed sapphire blue. A tremor shook the man’s body violently as fear overwhelmed him. The amulet he was holding gave him the power to kill a duke and a duchess – two most powerful beings on this land – why was this mere marquess unaffected? All the fortune he had spent, all the men he had sacrificed for his greed to control the land, snatching powers from the aristocrats of vampires and for the human race to rise to power will all crumble because of one tiny little boy. He swore to himself nothing will get in the way of his thirst for power and swings his bloodied sword at the boy. The little vampire was quicker than he had expected. By the time his brain registered what had happened, the smell of copper filled his nose and a gush of warm liquid spilled on his face. He screamed in pain as one of his eyes was stabbed by the vampire boy.

The screams alerted his men and the two vampires could see an army marching up to them. They were outnumbered and weaken. Even with The Marquess and his ability to withstand the amulet’s power, there was no way he could defeat an army. The two vampires exerted their last bit of energy to protecting The Marquess, jumping out of the balcony and disappeared to the dark night.

The armored man spat orders with an angered tone, wanting the whole Lee clan to be wiped out – no survivors. Killing off anyone who supported the vampire clan and opposed the human clan. “The world will be for the humans to rule!” He roared with no mercy as he swore to slaughter the rest of the vampires from the face of the earth. No one can stop him.


	2. Destiny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a while for me to write. Please let me know if there is something I can fix or anything. Just leave anything lol :'D

A young man sits by his balcony, breathing in the cool air of the night. The blaring sounds of chatters and classical music outside of his room do not pique his interest one bit as he continues to stare on the dark night. Only the bright moon adorns the dark sky with twinkling stars as its guardians. He sighs as his ears overheard the laughter coming from the other side of the door. His father hosted a ball for the patricians who he stated, ‘had helped me greatly in making this kingdom greater than before’ and honestly, he couldn’t care less about them.

            He sighs once again, feeling completely worn out from the whole shenanigans. How he wishes he is one of those happy families he’d witness every time he goes on a stroll. The smiles on their faces are everything compared to the status and wealth he owns. It’s the only thing he didn’t have. He sighs once again, brushing the loneliness he feels. He hears a soft knock on his door, asking for his permission to come in. He calls for the person to come in and he is thankful there is someone here to distract him from his train of thoughts.

            “Minhyung, I noticed you weren’t at the ball, so I came to check on you.” A tall figure steps in, a black suit fits his sturdy body. The man must be popular with the ladies considering the attractive aura he radiates.

            “It’s just us, Johnny. Please call me Mark.” The young man replies courtly, masking his displease at the older man choice of words. How he hated the name Minhyung. Minhyung had done nothing but taking his wishes away; a happy family and a caring father. To escape the reality he is in, he thought a change of name will help thus why he asks his older brother to call him Mark instead. “Or should I address you as Lord Youngho.”

            “All right Mark. I’ll stop calling you _that_ name.” The older man chuckles, holding up his hands in a defensive stance. Johnny walks towards the balcony, joining Mark in the cool night. The beautiful moon enlightens their dampen mood, witnessing the horrible jokes Johnny throws to Mark to make him smile again. Not once had Mark not laughed at Johnny’s horrible sense of humor – except for tonight. “What’s wrong, Mark?”

            “I don’t know.” Mark starts, “I just don’t feel too good.” Mark’s tone hints at the loneliness he feels and – being an observant brother he is – Johnny catches on his little brother’s emotion. “I want to- ” Before Mark can finish, Johnny interrupts him by cutting his words.

            “Want to come to the city with me?” Mark swears Johnny must have seen his eyes light up with excitement because right after he said that Johnny chuckles, his eyes turn to a crescent moon-like shape.

            “But what about the ball? I mean, you are the marquess.” Mark asks as his gaze slowly falls with disappointment. “You’re still Lord Youngho before you are Johnny.” Mark has long stop masking his real feelings, the kid in him slowly makes his way out.

            “Lord Youngho retired for the day and now its time for Johnny to make an appearance.” The older gentleman winks at his little brother earning a disgusted grunt from the latter. “And Johnny wishes to take his little brother to the city and take to the city he shall.” Johnny crosses his arm on his chest, saluting the younger man causing the latter to laugh. His face contorts with glee from his older brother’s antics. “Plus I heard there’s a carnival happening right now from one of the ladies.”

            “Carnival?” Mark’s eyes shine brighter than the moon, “I had never been to a carnival before.”

            “Neither have I!” Johnny shouts, “So little pepper, go change your attire and meet me at the usual spot, okay?” Johnny shakes Mark’s shoulders causing the young man to roc back and forth. He doesn’t mind getting push around like this by his big brother. The man is going to take him to a carnival. Not just any carnival, a night carnival!

            “Yes, Lord Youngho!” Mark shouts out in glee as he watches Johnny leaves the room, probably going to change his posh attire to a more casual one. He too reaches for the wardrobe inside his room, fiddling through formal suits and dress shirts – not something a person of lower status would wear to a carnival. “I don’t have anything to wear.” He whines as he closes the door to his wardrobe.

            He perks up as he remembers the perfect place to get clothes that can blend him in with the public. He makes his way down from his balcony, hanging on to the stout climbers for support. As soon as his feet reach the ground, he makes his way to a humble shack isolated from the luxuries. He bangs on the door softly, careful not to attract any attention to himself. He waited until the owner of the shack – a boy almost as tall as him – opens the door.

            “Lord Minhyung? Is there anything I can do for you?” The boy enquires as he bows his head slightly as a sign of respect for his superior. His eyes blinking away the sleep, heavy on his eyelids and try his best to stay awake for his master.

            “I need your clothes.” Mark says, marching straight in without needing the younger’s permission. His hands land on the cabinet drawers and he rummages around, finding the perfect clothes to his taste. “Jisung, I’m taking this one.” He pulls a black chiffon dress shirt from the drawers. He hears Jisung mumbles ‘but that’s the most expensive piece I have’ under his breath but decides to let it slide. He’ll give the boy a silk dress shirt later to compensate.

            He slid into the light material clothes but with his sparkling dress shoes and well-styled hair, he still looks out of place. Considering the impromptu invitation from his older brother, he got no time to fully assimilate himself to the public. He’ll leave it and pray other people wouldn’t be able to recognize him.

            Saying his gratitude to the younger boy – something a noble shouldn’t be bothered doing – he sprints towards the thick forest located on the back of his family’s land. Mark’s eyes land on Johnny who is waiting for him with his arms crossed over his chest. The silk dress shirt hung loosely around him as he gives off an aura Mark can’t seem to describe. No wonder the ladies are all crazy for him. “Hey, Johnny!” Mark rises his hand, hoping for the man to acknowledge him.

            Johnny rises a finger to his lips, signaling Mark to keep quiet. His eyes wander around, high on alert as he scans the perimeter. No one. Safe. The classical music still blaring loudly from the main mansion and no one is searching for them. They’re still safe. “Really, Mark?’ He whispers, “Do you want us to get caught this early?”

            “Sorry, Johnny. Just too excited.” Mark’s eyes trails at his older brother’s disguise. Everything Johnny wears screams nobleman except for his round rim glasses that he wears. “Uh, are you sure people won’t recognize you with only _that_ on?” Mark raises an eyebrow, “You can borrow Jisung’s commoner clothes though. I’m sure he got more clothes to spare.”

            With an annoyed expression on his face, Johnny places a hand on his waist. “You think I’ll be able to fit in his clothes?” Now, it’s his turn to raise an eyebrow. “And what about my disguise? It’s the perfect disguise and no one will notice.” Johnny turns around on his heels to face the small opening only he and Mark know since they are small. A small opening to the outside world. “Let’s just go. Someone’s going to notice we are gone.”

            Walking towards the night carnival is a thrill in itself – one that grows with every step. From the distance, Mark can hear the lively sounds coming from the carnival and happy chatters drift to his ears. The hint of happiness and merriness in their voices spark excitement inside of Mark. His eyes glistening as they arrive at the festive place. Little kids running around with their set of friends, giggling and smiling from the memories they’re creating. The same can be said to the adults – their faces lit up with glee from the good time they are having. Walking closely behind Johnny, Mark takes his time to admire the spirit of the festivity. This is his first time playing at the carnival’s booth and earning prizes from a simple game of darts, Mark is over the moon. The both of them had a great time, something they don’t feel from the constricted balls their father often organize.

            Not far from where Johnny and Mark are, a group of lively people chatters – more like bickers – away as they enjoy their night at the carnival. Mark sees them from the corner of his eyes, they come out as a fleeting glimpse, but Mark can see they are happy with each other’s presence.

            “I’ve been hearing your voice for an eternity now, I’m so sick of it.” Mark turns around and his eyes meet with an ethereal beauty, more alluring than the young ladies he courted before. The person’s tone when he said that was empty and had no ill intent whatsoever to whoever he mentioned.

            But the guy mentioned thinks otherwise as he clicks his tongue and hiss, “Do you want me to slice your throat?” A hint of anger can be heard from his voice but soon his expression softens, and he says, “But I still like Taeyong.”

            “All of a sudden?” Another young man voices out, choking on his drink as soon as he heard the tall one spoke. The young man is chuckling, probably finding the two men to be funny. His eyes curve into a crescent moon-shaped and his lips curls into a smile.

            The tall, lean man nods confidently and answers, “If Taeyong could bring one person with him to a deserted island, that person would be me.” The statement earns him a why from the younger man. “Because it’s me. There’s that saying, ‘In the end, it’s you.’ For him, in the end, it’s me.”

            Mark too is holding in his chuckles, amused at the bickering trio. Mark turns back around to catch up to Johnny who is a few steps away from him but all of a sudden, his shoulder bumps with another person. Mark freezes in his place as their eyes meet. His eyes fall on the most beautiful figure he had ever seen, more beautiful than the posh and luxuries ladies he was surrounded by before. The stranger also halts his steps, returning the gazes from the young man in front of him. It’s as if time slowed down and the world around them had paused for a while. The stranger jolts up when one of the young men from the trio placed his hand on his shoulder and shook him back to reality.

            The merry laughter ringing in Mark’s ears and his beautiful smile captivates Mark more than the long bouffant styled-skirt ball gown ever will. He is about to approach the stranger when he feels a strong hand circling his wrist. Mark turns his head around to see Johnny with worry clearly shown on his face. “Mark, you okay?” Johnny asks, Mark only nods at his question and quickly turns his attention to his previous focus but the stranger along with his companions are nowhere to be seen. “Let’s head back Mark. We’ve been out for too long.” Mark nods weakly, his excitement already left him when he lost the stranger.

+

            “Let’s go home.” Taeyong gestures Jeno to fetch Haechan who is weirdly standing idly and staring at someone.

            Jeno runs to get Haechan, placing his hand on his shoulder and shakes him a little. “You okay? What happened? Found food to your liking?” Jeno said as he chuckles at his own joke earning a laughter from his friend.

            “Now that’s a joke I can laugh to.” The young man called Haechan claps his hands, “Out of all the jokes you made.” He finishes with a mocking smile plastered on his face. He walks pass the now sour Jeno towards Doyoung and Taeyong. “Is everyone here?” He turns his head left and right as he tries to find the rest of his companions. “Where’s the other four?”

            “Jaemin took Renjun home. Apparently, the sweet smells from humans intoxicating him. Jaehyun and Jungwoo want to stay longer at the carnival.” Doyoung answers and it seems like Taeyong knows about this too as Haechan notices he is nodding his head. “We should return before dawns arrive.” His suggestion earns the agreement of all three of them and they turn on their heels to go back home. Haechan takes one last look at the young man who captures his interest and sees him with another gentleman before following suit Doyoung, Taeyong and Jeno

            They walk through a back alley, away from the festivity and into the darkness. Their feet bring them to a dead end with a trapdoor concealed under a camouflage. Opening the latched trapdoor and they jump into the pitch-black hole. Doyoung closes the door and they walk in a straight line with Taeyong in the lead. The pitch-dark surrounding is a no problem for them, with each of their eyes glowing crimson red and another glowing sapphire blue. The route leads to another trapdoor, this time they arrive in an empty building. They exit the building and walk pass the rows of abandoned building. A great, tall tower appear in their sight, they go inside and ascend the long winding spiral staircase with an attic door in its end. With a swift flick of his finger, Taeyong opens the door and one by one they jump up the attic.

            “Welcome back.” Someone greets them as soon as Doyoung closes the attic door. “Did Jungwoo and Jaehyun went back already?”

            “No, they wanted to stay at the carnival. How’s Renjun? Is he okay?” Taeyong asks Jaemin, hanging his coat on the rack.

            “Better.” Jaemin replies, “Taeyong, don’t you think-”

            “We’ll talk in the next night.” Taeyong says as he draws the curtains in. “The sun is coming up soon and I need you to be there for Haechan. Please.” Taeyong pleads with a hint of alert in his voice. “It’s always worse around this time.”

            “I know.” Jaemin replies, clenching his fists to hide in his frustration. “I know.” Jaemin turns on his heel and pulls Jeno with him to go to Haechan’s room. His steps halt when his eyes fall on Haechan, standing there with an apologetic smile on his face. “Haechan-”

            “I’ll check on Renjun first. You guys go ahead.” Haechan goes to Renjun’s room and saw the latter sleeping soundly on his bed. His breathing is completely relaxed as his chest moves up and down. Haechan stands there, listening to the rhythm of his breathing. His fingers brush away the stray locks on Renjun’s face as he kneels beside the boy’s bed. “I’m sorry, Renjun. You’re having a hard time and the focus is only on me.” Haechan starts apologetically, “I don’t know what to do… If only I know what to do.” The words come out as a pleading whisper as he squeezes Renjun’s hand, “Tell me what to do.”

            Another hand squeezes on Haechan’s hand, it is Renjun’s. His eyes look tired but the warmth from his hand tells him otherwise. “In time, you’ll know. It’s okay to not know what to do now and how to do it. Just know that we are all here for you and is ready when you’re ready.” A warm smile spreads across his face as he scoots over in his bed, leaving a space for Haechan to climb in. “It’s almost morning. Let’s get some sleep.” Haechan climbs in without a fight – something out of character for him. It seems Renjun notices it because he chuckles a bit before saying, “This Haechan is new to me. I don’t know how to react to this. I’d rather have the smart-mouth, obnoxious vampire rather than this dormant bat.”

            “This dormant bat is present only for tonight. You’ll find the obnoxious vampire tomorrow. Ready to wreck your life again.” Haechan teases with a smile – not the apologetic smile he had before but its more genuine and warmer – as he cuddles in Renjun’s embrace. The sunlight peaks through the drawn curtains, indicating it is already morning. “Get some sleep, Renjun.” Soon, two shallow breathing can be heard from Renjun’s room as the young vampires catch on some sleep.

            Contradict to the sleep of the vampire next to him, Haechan’s is filled with nightmares and memories from the night from 13 years ago. The image of his mother, bathed in the crimson blood of her own and his father’s mutilated head, swimming in the pool of his blood. The perpetrator standing tall and proud in front of his 5 years old self, looking smug over the kills he had done. The smell of copper is so strong, it stings his nose so much. Rather than fear, anger boils inside him as his eyes turn sapphire blue. His hands clench and the surge of energy flows inside him. He screams for the loss of his mother, for the death of his father and for the defeat of his people. His screams are loud and painful, aching for the injustice he experienced. _When will this ends?_

            “Haechan!”

            A violent shake freed him from the nightmare, beads of sweat rolls down his face as his eyes meet with a pair of worried ones. Familiar faces surround him with concern. _Renjun, Taeyong, Doyoung, Jeno, Jaemin, Jungwoo and Jaehyun._ “Good morning!” He beams, hiding the fact that he just woken up from a nightmare that has been haunting him for 13 years. “Or should I say, good evening?” He laughs, “How was the carnival Jungwoo, Jaehyun. Was it fun?”

            “Uh, yeah. It was fun.” Jaehyun glances to Taeyong nervously as he replies to Haechan. “We’ve drawn fresh _ones_ for the night. You can take them in the kitchen if you’re hungry.” Even if it is on their own free will, saying they drawn fresh blood for the vampires to consume sounds taboo to him and Jungwoo. They replace the fresh blood with a euphemism of fresh _ones_ or sometimes tomato juice.

            “I’ll drink it later. I need a shower. My body is sticky, and I feel icky.”

            “Yeah, sure.” Jaehyun said as he leaves the room, pulling a concerned Taeyong along with him. Jaemin takes Renjun’s hand and pulls him to the kitchen, making sure he’s taking his drink. Jeno squeezes Haechan’s shoulder before following suit Jaemin and Renjun. The only ones left inside the room are Haechan, Jungwoo and Doyoung.

            “Are you really okay, Haechan?” Jungwoo asks with the softest voice, afraid if he raises his voice even if it’s just a little, he’s going to scare the young vampire. Haechan nods, assuring the two men in front of him but Jungwoo is not convinced. “If Doyoung allows it,” he starts as his eyes meet with the latter for a while before turning his attention to Haechan again, “There’s a bonfire tonight…” His eyes go back to Doyoung as if asking permission to continue. Seeing Doyoung just stands there quietly, he continues. “How about we all go together? Today is the last day of the carnival and the bonfire is to celebrate it. Apparently, everyone wears masks to add to the excitement.” Jungwoo explains enthusiastically only to get a disinterested reply from Haechan. “Come on, Haechan. It’ll be fun.” Jungwoo turns to Doyoung, “Right, Doyoung?”

            “I’ll keep this as a secret from Taeyong.” Doyoung calmly states before he leaves the room. He will probably regret his decision later but rather than seeing Haechan plunging himself further into the horrible abyss, it might be better to give him the short joy he deserves. “Be back before dawn.” Poking his head back to the room, he gives a stern warning regarding Haechan’s curfew.

            Haechan shrugs his shoulder, amused to see Doyoung would actually allow him to go to a human gathering. Talk about out of character. “After I shower, we’ll go to the bonfire.” Haechan declares, causing Jungwoo to jump up in joy. “Pick the perfect mask for me please.” Haechan gets up and heads for his own room. He ascends the flight of stairs and a familiar space enter his line of sight. He flops his body down his bed, completely exhausted even though he had just woken up a few minutes ago. With a flick of his wrist, the curtain draws open and he bathes in the moonlight, gripping on to his sanity for the nth time. 13 years long of one single nightmare – the same nightmare every time he closes his eyes – he is beginning to get tired of it. He peels himself off from the bed, dragging his heavy limbs to the shower. He has a night out with Jungwoo and he doesn’t have the heart to cancel the promise. After he put on fresh new clothes, he goes down the stairs and heads towards the kitchen to get his fresh drawn blood – or as he likes to call it, _tomato juice_.

            He loads an extra pack of blood as his treat for the road. He turns around and saw Jungwoo runs towards him with a masquerade mask; The Volto, saying he only able to grab this one from his older brother and he needs to go first as he and Doyoung have to hold off Taeyong first. Grabbing his long coat from the coat rack, he jumps down from the attic door and on to the spiral staircase. He descends the winding staircase and walks alone in the night to the abandoned building with the trapdoor they often use to go to the city. Lazy to do the mundane task manually, Haechan just flicks his wrist to open and close the trap door. Placing The Volto perfectly on, he walks straight to where all the humans gather. Apparently, the mask Jungwoo gave him is a little too posh for the occasion as he feels stares directed to him.

            Not wanting to draw attention to himself, he walks away from the commoner festival and into a field with a single yellow acacia tree. He removes the mask from his face, sighing as he took it off. The wind blows gently as Haechan slowly walks towards the tree. The fragrance wafts around him, he closes his eyes to appreciate the beauty of it all. The wind blows a little stronger causing some of the flowers to drift from the tree. Haechan holds out his hand and a single flower falls on it.

            “Are you all right?” A sweet voice comes in from behind and Haechan’s eyes once again meet with the most enticing pair he had seen before. The pure and kind-hearted soul reflects perfectly in the young man’s eyes, something Haechan falls for deeply. His breath hitches and he can feel his heartbeat speeds up. Once more the world around them as if comes to a stop. Haechan feels like nothing else matters tonight. As long as _he_ is there.


	3. Yellow Acacia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if the update comes out later than expected. Its finals now and I'll be done on the 26th. Thank you so much for all the kudos and comment I've received. It means a lot to me as I'm a new writer for this fandom. The chapter is published without proofreading - I'm sorry if there are mistakes and such.

The yellow Acacia showers them as they stuck inside their own world. Mark’s eyes shine brightly as he appreciates the beauty this figure in front of him holds. Clear round eyes, cute little nose, and heart-shaped lips. His eyes linger on the stranger’s lips longer than it should, causing the one in front of him to shift uncomfortably – a shade of pink colors his cheeks. _That’s cute._ Mark carefully steps forward, anxious if he’ll scare the beauty away with his direct approach. When the latter doesn’t seem to mind, Mark inches closer and closer until they are only five feet apart. “Um,” Mark fidgets a little in his place, “Shall I accompany you for this evening?” Mark holds out his hand, gesturing for Haechan to take it. Minutes pass by and the young man in front of him only stares at him, there’s no indication if he will take Mark’s hand or not. Mark reluctantly retracts his hand before a pair of cold ones curl in his hand.

            “I would love that!” He said, almost screaming. A beautiful pink flushes his face as he pulls his hands back. He beautifully fiddles with the seam of his clothes, eyes cast down nervously. Everything he is and everything he does is beautiful to Mark. “I mean, I don’t mind.” He adds coyly.

_Beautiful._

            Haechan places the stray Acacia on his ears, a random habit he had since he was small. Haechan’s mother would always slip a flower on his ear, decorating him with colorful blooms.

            _Beautiful._

            “Shall we go?” Haechan starts.

            “Beautiful.” Mark replies and pink flushes his cheeks as he notices what he had said. “I mean, we should.”

            Haechan’s natural instinct to tease anyone and everyone doesn’t escape Mark as he decides to rag him for the slipped of his tongue. “That’s the first time someone courted me so straightforwardly.” It was the first anyone had ever courted him ever, but Mark doesn’t need to know that. “Well, I am a top beauty of my kind.” Again, not a lie but there is always a limit to when one can tease another without feeling embarrassed himself. Haechan slips his mask on, trying so hard to hide the violent shades of pink on his face. His flawless calm façade masking the furious beating of his heart. _Don’t let him hear this,_ he pleas.

            Safe behind their own masks, the young men finally feel comfortable to fool around each other. Haechan jokes around with Mark, earning a fit of chuckles from the latter. There is a strange satisfaction from hearing Mark’s cute laughter that Haechan couldn’t put his fingers on. Something inside him warms up at every hitched breath Mark takes from laughing. Haechan teases Mark, earning a shy smile from the latter too and now Haechan can’t make up his mind whether he likes the young man’s laughter or smile. Together, they enjoy the festivity for the commoner. A simple dart game turns into the most hilarious memory the both of them will ever remember. The image of Mark trying his hardest to throw darts to the board only for those to plummet to the ground. On the last try, Mark almost stabbed the booth owner, earning them a glare from the man.

            They continue their carnival-stroll as the night goes on. Though they keep a close distance with each other, charging into a sea of people and trying to stay together is deemed impossible when Haechan lost track of Mark. He tries to call out to him, but his voice caught in his throat when a sudden realization hits him. _I didn’t know his name…_ His eyes wander around, frantic to search for his companion for the night. Regret overwhelms him as he blames himself over and over again. _Why didn’t I ask for his name?_ _Why? Why? Why?!_ He gasps when he feels a hand around his wrist. He quickly turns his head around and sees the young man whom he had spent the entire night with.

            “Are you okay?” The young man asks, concerns masking his expression.

            “Tell me your name!” The words come out as an order rather than a plea. Haechan clings desperately onto Mark’s arm, afraid he’ll go away again. They only just met early this evening but Haechan can already feel the space Mark owns inside his heart. He doesn’t know what this feeling actually is but one thing he’s clear about, he doesn’t want to lose this young man in front of him.

            Mark’s eyes soften, his stares are full of fondness for the young man in front of him. Overlapping an assuring hand on top of Haechan’s, he replies, “You can call me Mark.” Giving him the name Mark instead of Minhyung – his real birth name – doesn’t mean he’s hiding a secret from Haechan. It’s because he really hates the name Minhyung and the weigh it carries and rather than having the beauty run away after knowing the burden of it all, Mark rather tell him a little white lie.

            “Mark.” Haechan repeats. “Mark.” He repeats once again as if allowing himself to memorize the said name. He giggles in relief as he finally knows the name of this stranger. _Mark._ He once again monologues. The name sounds foreign to the kingdom he lives in but echoes familiar to his heart. The thought of Mark having no connection whatsoever to this kingdom puts his mind in ease as he heaves a sigh of relief.

            Mark clears his throat, not knowing what to do as he sees how relieved the man is. Mark has to suppress his urge to rummage the young man’s locks seeing how furiously cute he is being right now. A wide smile stretches on his refined face as his eyes trail down to witness the beauty’s features. A few moles on his neck and jaw, cute baby fangs and fluffy hair. _Beautiful._ It is the first time Mark is this mesmerize to anyone – not when the ladies all flocked around him, not when Johnny brought him to the red light district as his coming-of-age gift. He has yet to ogle on the gentlemen and noblemen, but he can assure that none of them had ever struck his attention like the one who is clinging onto his arm so desperately right now.

            The young man has yet to introduce himself to Mark but Mark for one is a patient lad. He lets the young man clings onto his arm longer than one normally should, his head is now perfectly nuzzled on Mark’s shoulder. The people around them keep on bumping and brushing against them, Mark can’t help being protective as he pulls Haechan away from the crowd and back to where they first met – under the yellow Acacia tree. Feeling a little braver behind his mask and the lack of spectator, Mark leans on the tree as he pulls Haechan down and gestures the latter to sit next to him.

            Their sitting posture grants Haechan to be closer to him, their shoulder brushing against one another, hands perfectly placed next to each other. If Haechan does as much as lifting his pinkie finger to the side, he’d be able to hook their fingers together – or best yet, to entwine their fingers in a lock. Haechan goes against the idea, knowing full well he will not be able to control his heart from beating furiously. He rather ends himself than letting Mark knows just how much the young man is affecting him. Noticing the awkwardness in the air, Haechan pulls out a pack of blood he brought along from home and takes a nervous sip.

            “What’s that?” Mark asks, genuinely curious about the drink Haechan is drinking. His eyes shining seeing the foreign item in Haechan’s hand.

            “Uh,” Haechan stutters, “ _Tomato juice._ ” Avoiding Mark’s honest eyes as he finishes sipping on the drink and put it away back to where he pulled it.

            “Really?” Mark isn’t fully convinced. Feeling slightly hurt from Haechan’s possible lie, Mark pulls out a hip flask from his back pocket and sips at the drink inside.

            “What’s that?” This time, Haechan questions Mark, eyes round as he stares at the shiny flask and a sweet smell wafts to his nose.

            “Uh,” Mark gulps down the alcoholic drink from the flask he pulled out, “ _Apple juice_.”

            “Apple juice?” Haechan’s eyes are shining as he reaches for the flask, he wants to have a taste of this so-called apple juice. All his life he drinks blood and only blood. Doyoung and Taeyong never bother to stock their homes with humans’ food supplies except for when Jungwoo and Jaehyun visit their house. Jaemin, on the other hand, is content with hunting food by himself, as a way to satisfy the predator instinct in him. “Can I have some?” Eyes shining and mouth pouting, waiting for his wish to be fulfilled as he inches closer.

            Something inside Mark tells him to say no to the young man’s request. He doesn’t know how much the strong alcoholic drink he whisked from Johnny will affect this stranger and considering he doesn’t know a single thing about the young man, he wishes to not risk anything. The rejection earns nothing but a whine from the young stranger.

            But Haechan knows better than to accept no for an answer. 

            The two young men wrestle for the hip flask as Haechan charges forward to snatch it. A fit of giggles escapes their lips and happy smiles stretch big on their blissful faces. They are now a tangled mess of limbs, body on body and heads only inches away from one another. The giggles die down when their eyes meet for the second time that night. Haechan takes his mask off, heart beating like crazy on top of Mark. A faint flush of pink decorates their faces as the yellow Acacia showers them with their might.

            “You smell good.” Haechan absentmindedly compliments the young man, his eyes are now unfocused, intoxicated in the sweet smell of Mark’s. _Is this what Renjun smelt last night?_ “You smell really good, Mark.” His voice comes out low as he groans. His head slowly reaches for the space between Mark’s shoulder and neck. “Really… good…” He trails off as he bares his fangs unbeknown to the young man underneath him, eyes glowing sapphire blue.

+

            “Are you free now to talk about Renjun?” The young man had his fierce eyes lock on the back of the older vampire in front of him. His arms crossed on his chest as he leans on the door frame of their small common space. He had long been waiting for the chance to talk to the vampire, but the latter keeps brushing him off.

            Sighing, the older vampire replies, “He’ll be fine if he continues to drink the blood Jaehyun and Jungwoo provide.” The older vampire replies nonchalantly as he continues to keep watch over the outside of the tower, making sure there are no suspicious movements that can be a threat to his family. “The blood they provide is more than enough for all of us vampires.” Taeyong turns around and his eyes meet with a pair of fierce ones, burning with love and care for the vampire in topic.

            “You know very well, that’s not what I want to talk about.” The young werewolf growls, his hands fisted in an effort to control his anger as his eyes flash yellow – a clear sign he is at the end of his wits. “It has been two years, Taeyong. Until when will you turn a blind eye on him?” He pauses as he bears his canine fangs, “Will you finally look his way if I do something about it?” His growls are deep and low, coming out as a threat to Taeyong.

            “You dare _._ ” The older vampire barked, now his eyes are glowing crimson red, challenging the young wolf for dominance. He was the Commander of the Kingdom, and for a young lone wolf to sneer at his authority will issue nothing but a brawl between them but Taeyong knows better – this is not the time for a crack to happen within the family. “ _Stop._ ” He whispers as he used his _gift_ – an ability all vampires were granted since birth, each of them varies from one another – of _Absolute Command._

            Jaemin had no choice but to abide his orders, letting this whole thing slide yet again, it’s not because he’s willing to, but the vampire’s powers forced him. Jaemin let out a low groan, unhappy at the vampire’s attempt to shut him up.

            “Nothing good will ever come from scavenging the past. It may be a good thing and if you’re lucky you’ll find a road of flowers but if not, you’ll be hurt by the prickling thorns.” Taeyong sigh, hoping his words reach the hot-headed Jaemin. “Okay fine, Jaemin.” Taeyong finally gives in to the young wolf’s request after a minute of thinking, wishing nothing but to amend their relationship. “I’ll help Renjun with any means I can. It’ll take some time, but with your help, I’m sure we’ll find the truth sooner.” Taeyong smiles weakly, placing an apologetic hand on Jaemin’s shoulder, “And I’m sorry for not thinking about him more. He’s our family now, what was I thinking?”

            Taeyong’s words ring sincerity as they echo in Jaemin’s heart. He can feel the concern the vampire had for Renjun – a feeling he thought only exists for Haechan. He nods, trusting Taeyong to keep his words as a big smile forms on his face. Jaemin is over the moon. He jumps up and down, expressing his glee with his body before running off to tell Renjun about this, bumping shoulders with Jungwoo on his way. Before he left, he could hear Taeyong muttered ‘he’s finally acting his age’ but he doesn’t care about that, they can finally help Renjun after finding him half dead behind a shrub.

            It was eleven years after the coup d'état, forcing them into hiding as the humans killed off the rest of the aristocrat vampires. It was broad daylight and all the vampires were safely asleep in their hideout so Jaemin – being the lone wolf – he had wandered around the outskirts of town, hunting for food. He had searched high and low but no luck in finding his lunch. He strayed further, hoping he’d be lucky enough to capture a rabbit or two. He almost gave up when his strong sense of smell picked up on the scent of sweet metallic meters away. He followed the scent, running on all fours in his wolf form, not expecting for the sight of his life.

            The rose shrubs were dyed red, complementing the beautiful red roses they bore. Behind it was a young vampire, too beaten down to be alive. The pool of blood underneath him had already dried out, tainting the pure white clothes the creature was wearing. Shifting back to his human form, he rushed to the young vampire’s side, first making sure the vampire was alive. When he heard a small grunt coming from him, Jaemin panicked. He knew he needs to save the vampire, but how? The authorities were roaming around, killing off every threat in sight. Jaemin had thought of helping the vampire to end his misery – meaning he had thought of killing the already weaken vampire but when he clutched on Jaemin’s shirt, whispering save him over and over again, it broke Jaemin’s heart.

            “Can you cling onto me?” He had asked the vampire as he shifted back to be a wolf.

            The vampire nodded weakly, but the will to live burned passionately in his eyes. It was more evident when he clung onto Jaemin’s fur tightly, using every last bit of his strength to not fall off as Jaemin ran with all his might back to the hideout. The sight of a bloody boy on top of Jaemin shocked the three humans – Taeil, Jaehyun, and Jungwoo – but needless to say, they still extended a helping hand to the poor boy. Soon they learned the boy vampire’s name was Renjun and nothing else. The vampire had lost all his memories.

            Back to the present days, Jaemin looks for Renjun all over their home to tell him the good news. He isn’t in the kitchen, nor is he in the common room where he had a talk with Taeyong. Only one place left that Jaemin hadn’t checked, and the only place Renjun would be whenever he has something in his mind. The rooftop.

            Jaemin climbs the stairs to Haechan’s room and hops out of the window, steadying himself on the window frame. He pulls himself up and there he sees Renjun sitting at the edge of the roof with Jeno standing next to him. “Injun!” He calls out to Renjun with the pet name he gave to him. “I got great news for you!” He beams as he walks closer to both Jeno and Renjun. All eyes are on him as he pants with joy – like how a dog would.

            “Oh, good boy. Sit.” Renjun teases and is not surprising when Jaemin actually sits next to him. “Hand.” He commands, sticking out his own hand for Jaemin to place his on and Jaemin do as told.

            Jeno chuckles at the sight of the two, finding their act to be amusing. “What is it you want to tell?” Jeno asks, stopping their master-dog charades. “What’s the good news?”

            “Oh right. I have something big to tell you guys.” Jaemin claps both his hands, remembering the promise Taeyong made earlier before clasping both Renjun’s hands in his. “Taeyong said he’ll help find your lost memory, Injun!” He beams, expecting to see Renjun as ecstatic as him but Renjun eyes cast down with only a sad smile decorating his face. He didn’t expect for Renjun to act the way he did and when their eyes meet for a brief second, Jaemin can feel the sorrow in his eyes. “Why?” He asks, “Don’t you want to find your family? Don’t you want to remember where your home is?”

            “It’s not that, Jaemin.” Renjun pauses, he looks at both Jeno and Jaemin, pondering whether to tell them the truth or not but Renjun knows better than to lie to his family. “I’m… Scared.” He confesses, “What if there’s actually nothing from the past that is waiting for me… It has been two whole years, Jaemin.” Now it is his turn to grip on the wolf’s hands, “What if they all had the same fate as me or worse.” Renjun trails off, dampening the gleeful mood with the reality he fears so much.

            Hours pass and none of them had spoken a single word. The harsh reality dawns on them as they will finally find the truth behind Jaemin’s encounter with the past bloody Renjun. Will Renjun really be happy finding his past that he had forgotten? Will there be anything left waiting for his return when they find out the truth? Jaemin finally understands the words Taeyong spoke to him in the common room. _If you’re lucky you’ll find a road of flowers but if not, you’ll be hurt by the prickling thorns._

            “Where is Haechan when we need him?” Jeno says, fidgeting in his stance, uncomfortable with the deafening silence.

            “Now that you mentioned it, I didn’t see him anywhere.” Jaemin looks up at Jeno, meeting his eyes. “Don’t tell me he sneaked out.” Jaemin puts out their suspicion in verbal, that sounds like what Haechan would do anyway. “It didn’t look like Taeyong knows Haechan is gone when I talked with him.”

            Sensing something isn’t right, Renjun immediately turns his head to Jeno behind him, “Jeno. Use your gift to find him. I don’t care about him sneaking out, but he might be causing trouble for people out there.”

            Jeno nods at Renjun’s suggestion, closing his eyes to concentrate on finding the mischievous vampire. Tracing the old tracks left by Haechan, Jeno found out that Haechan had indeed left the hideout to go to the city – to the night festival to be more specific. Jeno sees Haechan with someone, a boy who looks too posh to be going to a commoner’s festival. Jeno opens his eyes, the red glow of his eyes is a contrast in the dark night. “He’s sitting under… some tree with some human guy… I better tell Doyoung about this.” Jeno announces before storming off to find his brother, feeling unsettle knowing Haechan is with a guy who probably comes from an aristocrat family of humans – judging from the guy’s attire. _He might know what to do._

            The other two follow suit, fear starts to grow inside their hearts as worry clouds their trains of thoughts. Will Haechan finally get himself killed this time?

            “Brother!” Jeno yells, and when he hears a reply coming from the common room, he speeds walk there. “Doyoung, I need to tell you something.” As soon as he turns to enter the common space, he is welcomed with the sight of Doyoung hugging Taeyong with all his might, asking for Jungwoo to take their pictures with the land camera. Jungwoo, on the other hand, is softly giving out instruction for various poses they should make.

            “What are you doing?” Jeno asks with a bewildered look on his face.

            “Making memories with Taeyong.” Doyoung answers, holding Taeyong closer in his embrace, earning a questioning look from Jeno. “Even if we’ve been friends for thousands of years, it doesn’t hurt to create more memories, right?” He finishes and continues to wrap his arm around Taeyong’s neck, causing for the latter to bend a little with his hands on his hips. “Now, Jungwoo. Now.”

            Jungwoo does as he is instructed but he had an anxious look on his face. He had leave Haechan far too long alone outside, wishing to distract Taeyong with Doyoung’s help but ended up taking a bunch of pictures of them instead. Jungwoo looks at Jeno with knowing eyes, finally found his excuse to leave the place and go to Haechan. “Doyoung, I’ll let Jeno take the pictures okay?” Winking at Doyoung as he passes the land camera to Jeno and rushes out of the room. “I-I need to go home.” He stutters, “Tae-Taeil probably looking for me. Bye, Doyoung, Taeyong, Jeno.” He waves around, “And Jaemin, and Renjun. Bye.” There is a hint of nervousness in his voice that he desperately so wishes to suppress. Taeyong is anything but oblivious and stupid. As he is about to open the entrance, he overheard Jeno explaining he saw Haechan outside with someone when he used his gift follows by a loud ‘what’ from Taeyong. The cat is out of the bag and Jungwoo could do nothing about it but sigh.

            “Jungwoo!” A voice calls him back to the common room.

            “Yes…” Jungwoo replies weakly, as he walks back to face the consequences of his action with his head hang low.

            “Please tell Taeil about this immediately! Tell him, to wait at this hideout first before I give the signal.” There is a sense of urgency in his voice that pricks at Jungwoo’s guilty conscience. He couldn’t fathom the result of him letting Haechan roamed around the human land unsupervised to be so alarming.

            “Wait, why are you calling Taeil for?” Doyoung pulled slightly on Taeyong’s arm, “I’m sure it’s not that bad. It’s not like Haechan never sneaks out of the hideout, he does this on a weekly basis.”

            “He was alone! All those times, he was alone, Doyoung. Now he’s with someone! Someone we don’t know!” Taeyong raises his voice, exasperated knowing Haechan is outside with someone he has no idea who. Millions of possible worst-case scenarios flood Taeyong’s mind, heartbeat increasing with each thought of the worst happening to Haechan. “I don’t want to risk it, Doyoung.”           His last sentence comes out as a low hush, desperation clings his voice.

            Doyoung finally knows Haechan isn’t the only one who is hunted by the horrific past, Taeyong is too.

            “Jeno, see if he’s doing anything right now.” Doyoung instructs his younger brother, his eyes fall on Jaemin and Renjun who are standing behind Jeno. “You two, come with me. We need to drag Haechan back.”

            “Brother, Haechan… He…” Jeno gasps, making everyone halt, all eyes focus on him. “I-I think he’s about to bond with the guy!”

            “Shit.” Taeyong curses. “No time. Renjun!” He calls Renjun which the younger vampire quickly responds to and in no time, he is beside Taeyong, holding onto his arms firmly and just like that both Renjun and Taeyong disappear into thin air.

            Next thing they know, their feet land on the soft grass surrounding the big yellow acacia tree. Under it they see Haechan, lying on top of some human boy inching closer with his fangs out. “ _Don’t move._ ” Taeyong whispers, his eyes glowing red in an attempt to stop the boy vampire from proceeding further using his gift.

            As if someone had constricted all movement from him, Haechan stops and his senses finally return to him. Haechan’s eyes cease to glow sapphire blue as his ears pick on Taeyong’s voice coming nearer towards him. _Taeyong? Why is he here?_ His left ear is yanked and he yells out from the pain, slapping on the strong hand with an iron grip on his ear. “Taeyong that hurts!” Are the only words he can muster as he is dragged away by Taeyong.

            “Good. That’s exactly what I want you to feel.” Taeyong turns his head around, looking down and meeting eyes with the human boy. The boy immediately stands up, brushing the dirt off of his clothes. Taeyong watches as the human boy extends his hand, introducing himself politely to the male vampire. Taeyong is not interested in the boy’s small talk. He looks like an aristocrat, wearing expensive luxuries only the noblemen are entitled to with a manner to boot. Taeyong decides the boy will bring nothing but a threat to Haechan and their encounter tonight is to be erased from his memories. With his eyes glowing red, he commands the boy, “ _Forget._ ” Taeyong sees as the boy’s eyes dim under the moonlight. Unsatisfied, Taeyong once again commands, “ _Sleep._ ”

            The boy’s mind goes blank, eyelids heavy from the sudden drowsiness. The last thing he hears is the name _Haechan._


	4. His Name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you notice, I've changed the title to No Longer Ours. I am so sorry for the late update. Here you go! The next chapter to No Longer Ours!

“What were you thinking?!” Taeyong yells out as he slams the entrance way shut, locking it right after. Haechan had long made his way to the common space, pulling the reluctant Renjun along with him. He had been ignoring the constant nagging from Taeyong all the way back to the hideout and by the time they got back, Taeyong’s patience is wearing thin. “Haechan! Are you listening to me?!” Taeyong yells once again as he makes his way to the common room. There, he is greeted by the sight of Jaehyun and Taeil, surrounded by the other vampires with worry plastered on their faces. His eyes fall on Jaehyun who walks up to him and pulls Taeyong in his embrace. Taeyong shifts in his stance, uncomfortable with Jaehyun’s display of affection. “Jaehyun… Wh-Why are you here?” His voice is low, his tone is neither welcoming nor shunning with the surprise visitor.

            “He thought you were in trouble.” A man who is standing at the center of the vampires defends Jungwoo, pulling all the attention to him. “Jaehyun is your vessel, in case you forget. It’s not like he can’t sense your distress,” the man explains, “He ran out of the mansion so fast, he lost his shoes on the way here. Just in case something happened, I followed him here.”

            Taeyong locks eyes with Jaehyun and he can see the concern look in the man’s eyes, sincerely worried for the vampire’s wellbeing. His eyes travel south and see the man standing in front of him is barefoot. “Jaehyun, I—” Taeyong is at a loss for words. He had lost his cool when Jeno told him Haechan was with another human, thinking of the worst case scenario that can possibly happen. Even though he had tried so hard to not let it show, but he couldn’t suppress the turmoil inside him, letting his vessel experience the same emotions as him.

            “I’m glad you’re okay,” Jaehyun heaves a sigh of relief as he tightens his embrace. If something were to happen to Taeyong, Jaehyun wouldn’t know what to do. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He repeats those words as if wanting to convey the overwhelming relief he feels – just like how he, as a vessel, felt Taeyong’s emotions. If only the vampire can feel what he feels too…

             “Taeil!” Haechan whines with a pout, disrupting the beautiful moment Jaehyun and Taeyong are having, “Give me a hug too.” Haechan walks past the others to get to Taeil with his arms wide open. The young vampire’s antic earns a disgruntled noise from the others. Taeil, on the other hand, unwillingly complies with the troublesome vampire’s wish, hugging him to the vampire’s heart’s content. After the quick hug, Haechan stretches out his arms to pull Renjun, Jeno, and Jaemin with him. “I’ll be going in now. Good night everyone.”

            “Haechan, wai—” Taeyong calls out to Haechan but Doyoung stops him, placing a hand in Taeyong’s shoulder. The man shakes his head, advising his friend to hold off his lecture. There are so much he needs to explain to the man. Doyoung turns his head to Jungwoo, nodding as they mutually agree to be responsible for their action.

             Haechan pulls the trio to his room. There are so many questions he needed to be answered. As soon as they settle down, Jeno and Jaemin standing near the window while Haechan and Renjun sit on the bed, Haechan immediately voices out the number one question he had in mind. “Okay,” he starts, “I know you guys probably used Jeno’s gift to see my whereabouts but,” he paused as he stares into Renjun’s eyes, “How were you and Taeyong able to stop me on time?” The number one thing Haechan is curious about is Renjun’s ability. “Can it be… Your gift?”

            Jeno and Jaemin, though silent, is focusing on both of them. They too had wanted to ask Renjun the same question. What did they see in the common room before? Was that his gift? How did Taeyong know? Since when has he known what’s his gift is?

            Renjun shifts in his seat, fidgeting as he feels guilty for not telling them about this earlier. There are so many secrets he keeps from them, he doesn’t know where to start. Answering Haechan’s question is probably the first step. “Y-Yeah.” He confessed. “Or at least that’s what Taeyong told me.”

            As soon as Renjun replied, Jaemin and Jeno swarm him, sitting on the floor by the bed. “How did he know?”

            Renjun fidgets again in his seat. “Actually, he once approached me. Asking me whether I ever wanted to find my family. If I ever wanted to search for my past memories.” Renjun glances away from the three of them, biting his lower lips. “I told him ‘no, never’. He didn’t say anything. He just nodded and asked me another question, ‘Want to at least restore your gift?’. So I agreed.” Renjun takes in shaky breaths, tears threatening to fall. “The least I can do is to not be a burden.”

            Upon hearing Renjun’s words, the three of them feel physical pain as if millions of knives are cutting deep wounds in their hearts. The three of them pull Renjun in for a hug, knowing this is probably what Renjun needs the most. They stay still for a while, finally understand the burden and worries Renjun had kept deep inside his heart. The loneliness and fear imagining his family had the same fate as him and the anxiety that makes him feel like a burden is too much for one to bear alone.

            “We are a family, Renjun… and families don’t think of other family members like burdens.” Jaemin assures him in a low hush, his voice sounds firm, sincerity tangles with the words that came out. “Since the day we welcome you here, you are never a burden to us Renjun.”

            The four of them can feel tears threatening to fall but are too proud to shed any of them. With a swift flick of his wrist, Haechan turns the lights off, hoping the dark will blanket them with comfort. It did. Soon, Jeno and Haechan can feel Renjun’s shoulders shake violently and silent sobs can be heard inside that unlit room.

+

Mark opens his eyes and the usual sight of his bedroom fills his view. He is laying on the large bed – too large for one lone man – of his room, staring emptily at the vault. The door to his room clicks and in comes Johnny with a tray in his hands. “Oh, you’re awake,” he greets.

            “Morning, Johnny,” Mark greets him back, sitting up on his bed, placing a hand to soothe the pounding of his head. To be honest, he has no recollection whatsoever of the things he did yesterday. All of it was a blank slate for him. He furrows his eyebrows, trying so hard to recall his memory from yesterday. “What happened yesterday?”

            “I don’t know.” Johnny crosses his arms after he placed the tray-filled breakfast next to Mark. “You tell me. _He_ came to me last night, saying _he_ was worried about you and told me to go and look for you. The next thing we saw was you peacefully sleeping next to a big tree reeked of alcohol. Don’t you assume I don’t know the smell of my personal collection of my spirits. Minhyung, when and how did you get my secret stash of liquor?”

            “A big tree? Sleeping?” Mark furrows his brows further. Johnny statement on his condition yesterday is such a foreign memory to him. What was he doing sleeping next to a big tree? Why was he near the tree in the first place? “Why did I go there?”

            “Don’t play dumb, Mark. You’re not getting away with what you did.” Johnny places a hand on his hip as he rolls his eyes. His little brother is old enough to drink alcoholic drinks but stealing them right under his nose is unforgivable. He could just ask.

            “If I didn’t go outside with you, then, who did I spend my night with?” Mark looks up to meet his older brother’s eyes as if wanting confirmation that he really wasn’t with him last night.

            Johnny expression turns to worry, hearing his younger brother worrisome questions. He takes a seat on Mark’s bed, dipping the bed as he stares into his younger brother’s eyes, hoping he was joking or making fun of him. Mark’s expression is serious. “Yesterday you told me you wanted to check out the last night of the carnival. You asked me to cover your back too. Do you remember that?”

            “Yeah… Somehow.” Mark heaves a heavy sigh. “Anyways, please send my regards to _him_. It has been a long time since I last saw _him_. How was _he_? Is _he_ okay?”

            “Yeah… _He_ ’s fine. I’ll send him your regards later.” Johnny stretches out his arm, holding Mark’s hands in his. “Mark, do you remember anything else?”

            “I-I think I do, Johnny. I was strolling around the carnival, playing booth games and all.” Mark shuts his eyes as he takes in a few deep breaths to help ease his headache. “I… I was with someone else, but, I can’t—” Mark tries as hard as he can to remember the stranger he was with last night – his face, his voice, his laughter – the answer is on the tip of his tongue, but to no avail. “But I do remember _one name._ ”

            “Who is it, Mark. Tell me.” Johnny leans closer, relief his brother can at least remember one thing from the sea of confusion.

            “ _Haechan._ ” Mark looks up to meet Johnny’s eyes. “Haechan. That’s all I remember.”

            “Haechan.” Johnny repeats, “I’ll ask _him_ about this. Maybe _he_ has ideas on what happened to you. For now, you just rest Mark.” Johnny puts the tray away, gesturing for Mark to sleep some more. “Get a good rest and we’ll discuss about this again.”

            Johnny didn’t need to tell Mark twice because as soon as he is in the comfort of his bed, Mark is fast asleep. Johnny takes with him the tray full of breakfast and makes his way downstairs. One of the servants in his house takes the tray away from his hand and Johnny immediately heads to his own room. Closing the door behind him, Johnny sits at the foot of his own bed.

            “Johnny?” A man with groggy voice greets him. He gets up from his slumber and sits facing the said man. “Is everything alright?”

            “Sorry to disturb your sleep,” he apologized, patting the head of the man in front of him. “But I need you to do me a favor later.”

            “There’s no need for you to request a favor from me. I am forever in your debt, Johnny.” The man bows his head slightly, saluting Johnny who is sitting in front of him. “How can I help you?”

            “I need you to find _Haechan_.”

+

            For once, Haechan didn’t wake up with a start nor was he covered in sweats from the nightmares that had been hunting him for years. Last morning, he had a dream of the night he had spent with the most wonderful young man he had befriended in his life. _Mark_. The laughter they shared together is more than enough to ward off the demons in his head. His dream recalls everything that had happened – from the minute he met Mark to the incident during their time playing booth games until that time when they sat next to each other by the tree before Taeyong came to disrupt the party.

            Haechan lies on his bed, sighing, as he remembers the last part of his dream. He was inches away from biting a random stranger and making that young man his vessel. Why did he act the way he did? Why had he lost his control after all these years? “Who is Mark, exactly?”

            “That’s what I would like to know too.” Jaemin has his head props up on his hand, a wry smile decorates his face. “You’ve been calling out his name all night, you know,” he teases, “Were you dreaming about him?” Jaemin’s teasing earns him a punch on the stomach from Haechan and a painful smack on the shoulder. Even while holding in the pain, Jaemin can see how Haechan is turning different shades of pink and his nervousness is evident from his stutters.

            “N-No I-I was n-not!” Haechan tries his best to retort Jaemin’s statement, “D-Don’t make stu-stupid things up!”

            “Is Mark the posh guy from last night?” Jaemin hits the bullseye. “He is, isn’t he? Seeing how flush pink you’ve become.” Jaemin gets up from Haechan’s bed, that wry smile never left his face, “I never know Haechan can have a crush. I better tell the guys about this.” Jaemin wastes no time in teasing Haechan, the master of pranks. It was usually them receiving the teases and such but now with Haechan on the other end, Jaemin will not let go of this rare opportunity.

            The wolf and the vampire run down to the common room where everyone probably is. Haechan could’ve easily stops Jaemin by using his gift but the panic made him lose all rational judgments on what actions to take. The result is, he has to face the most humiliating time in his life.

            “Guys! Haechan is in… _Love_!” Jaemin announces, emphasizing as hard as he could on the ‘love’ part and made all of the people in the room to stop in their tracks, not believing their ears at all.

            “No way!?” Renjun snickers, catches in Jaemin’s intention to tease Haechan. “ _The_ Haechan have a crush?!”

            “Don’t tell me it’s the guy from last night?!” Jeno continues the teasing as the three of them roars with laughter. The three of them getting rowdier as the teasing increases. They had long been waiting for this opportunity to get back at Haechan. The young vampire had tormented them for so long and now that they got their revenge, it feels good.

            “Boys. Quiet down.” Taeyong warns, his tone of voice is stern, leaving no room for the younger ones to retort with a joke. “Haechan. I need to speak with you. My room. Now.” Taeyong gets up to leave the common space, “Doyoung and Jungwoo too. Come with me.”

            The air around him is heavy, implying the seriousness of the topic he is about to discuss. Taeyong receives a huge blow from yesterday’s incident. All this while he had taken for granted the peace he had experience, letting the Marquess roams freely as he wishes, not thinking of the consequences for his negligence. However, there is no way Taeyong can cage Haechan in their isolated hideout. Haechan is a free spirit. He is just a young vampire before he is Lee Donghyuck The Marquess of The Lee Clan.

            “Doyoung told me what happened.” His eyes travel to Doyoung, nodding at the latter, “He explains everything in great detail to me last night and I don’t think I need to ask you any more questions.” Taeyong, who had his hands clasp together, looks up to meet Haechan’s eyes. “Just… Refrain yourself from associating with the humans, okay. Besides the ones who help us.” His words come out as a low hush as if pleading Haechan to follow his wish. Begging him to be careful, to always be on his toes. He has to walk on eggshells like what they have to for years now. “You understand right, Haechan?”

            All those years of hiding themselves, living as if they are dead, Haechan has had enough of it. He fists his hands, holding in the rage boiling inside of him. “Okay, Taeyong.” He responds instead. Though he is rebellious, Haechan doesn’t have the heart to go against Taeyong’s words. The vampire had gone through so much, he’s practically on the edge of a cliff. Haechan doesn’t wish to be that tiny force to push him off it. He never verbally says this but Haechan loves Taeyong more than anything. He is his brother, his parent, and also his guardian. He is his family. “I-I won’t even step a foot outside this place! You don’t have to worry about a thing!” He

             True to his words, Haechan never left the hideout ever since.

+

“You’re going to that tree again, aren’t you?”

            Mark doesn’t respond, nor did he look up to see who is against his decision. He already knows who it is. It’s his older brother. Ever since he woke up with a blank slate in his memory, he had been restless, as if he has forgotten something of great importance for him. Every day he had gone to the last place he can remember, clinging onto that fragment of hope to find the missing piece to this puzzle.

            “Father is going to find out about this, Mark.” He warns. “Please just listen to me for once.” He pleads. However, none of his warnings nor his pleadings go through Mark. Mark has long decided to make ends meet and Johnny knows if his younger brother had set his mind to it, there’ll be nothing to change it. He heaves a sigh of frustration. “Fine. I’ll cover your back… _Again_.” He stresses on ‘again’, “But what makes you think you’ll find _Haechan_ this time?”

            “All those times, I went during the day, right?” Mark finally turns around to face Johnny, gripping on the stout climbers by his room’s balcony. “I haven’t tried night time.” He winks at Johnny as if his idea is the most brilliant one out there earning a yell of exasperation from Johnny, ‘Are you kidding me, Mark Lee?’ as he climbs down and makes his way to the humble shed nearby.

            He knocks on the door and bursts in without actually waiting for the owner to welcome him in. The questionable look on Jisung’s face is more than enough for Mark to know the timing for his surprise visit is not great. “I’ll just borrow some clothes and leave,” Mark informs, digging through Jisung’s pile of clothes and changing into them accordingly.

            At this point in time, his master’s intrusion isn’t something out of the ordinary, rather he had been expecting the young man to come. “I have something I want to ask you but please don’t be mad.”

            Without turning around to face him and just continue to dishevel his kept hair, Mark replies, “What is it Jisung?”

            “Can I come along?” He voices out, asking permission from his lord to leave this land. “You always tell me stories of the outside world, and how adventurous it was. I always wonder how the outside world looks like.” He has his two hands clasped together, playing with them nervously as he waits for his master’s approval.

            “Of course you can.”

            Those four words are enough to send Jisung to the moon. He wants to convey his gratitude to Mark so bad but only strings of ‘ah’ and ‘um’ come out from his mouth.

            “Jisung, how do I look?” Mark twirls around for Jisung to have a good look at him. Unlike the other day he sneaked out, he is fully dressed in citizen’s clothing with his hair disheveled, nothing he wears relate him to the posh world of the nobles.

            Jisung tries his best to think of a compliment for his master, taking this as an opportunity to show his gratitude. “You look like the perfect peasant.” He shows Mark a thumbs up. “As if you were born to be a peasant, my lord.” Jisung flashes Mark his most sincere smile but the smile seems ambiguous to Mark.

            Mark knows better the boy didn’t mean harm. With an awkward thanks from Mark, they make their way to the one place Mark is dying to go. All throughout the journey, Jisung couldn’t contain his excitement as the thrills overwhelmed him. This is the first time he stepped outside his master’s land – ever since his father’s death. The piece of land he cultivated is more than enough food supply for him, and all his clothes are bought by the young masters’. He had no reason to go outside.

            Jisung gazes in awe at the glorious acacia tree as the branches dance in the wind, carrying the fragrance of honey with a hint of jasmine along with it. He turns his head to his young master, amazes at the view he is seeing as of now. He holds his tongue as he sees the melancholy look on Mark’s face. Jisung wonders what the young master has in mind as he holds his gaze to the dancing acacia.

            Mark somehow remembers parts of the memories – the words he conjured, the smiles and laughter he shared and the happiness he felt – but with whom is a big blur for him. Silently, he makes a wish under the acacia tree, yearning for his memories to come back. A sudden gush of wind surprises him, causing him to turn around, away from the tree.

            “ _Haechan._ ”

            The mysterious name resonates in Mark’s ears. His breath hitches as he hears a familiar laughter coming from the distance.

            “Haechan?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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